


Black Bow

by SableGhoste



Category: Villainous (Cartoon)
Genre: Additional Tags to Be Added, Canon-Typical Violence, Child Neglect, Eventual Paperhat, No Pregnancy involved at all actually, No mpreg, Slow Burn, fankid
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:48:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24238300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SableGhoste/pseuds/SableGhoste
Summary: It's hard to say how your life will change even day to day. This is especially true when your life is as high risk and volatile as the life of a super-villain can be.The Black Hat Organization discovers this for themselves when a series of fateful actions leads the the creation and discovery of its newest member. The child-like Eldritch entity now known as Black Bow
Relationships: Black Hat/Dr. Flug (Villainous)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 97





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This story and character have been swimming in my head for a few years now. It's finally time to get it all down in writing, and I may as well share it with all of you. Please bear with me as I tell you the tale.

Halloween in the Black Hat Organization Manor went one of two ways, but it always started out the same. During the day, Flug was drowned in last minute product requests and orders. It was a good day to be evil. With so many civilians out in costume a villain could easily blend into crowds, and minor crimes that sometimes came with casing a place for theft or illegal entry could be overlooked and attributed to prank-happy children. A lot of these villains made plans in the heat of the moment, and therefore the day before or the day off the holiday, so during the day Flug would be working his fingers to the bone trying to get as much done as possible. The calls would die down by late afternoon and it was then that the day could diverge into a few different options.

Some years, Black Hat Organization threw grand Halloween Gala’s. Only the richest and most powerful could hope to attend and for a night, they could bask in the presence of the Lord of the Manor. Many hoped for mere glimpses of their infamous host. As an employee, Flug was expected to work during these galas. He traded his lab coat for a stuffy tux and made sure everyone had enough to drink and that the snack table wasn’t decimated. After the party, he and the Hat-Bots would begin the arduous process of cleaning up. These were his least favorite Halloweens.

Other years, Black Hat made plans independently of his employees. On these nights, when the boss was out at some event thrown by someone else, Flug, Demencia, and 505 had an evening to themselves. Tonight was going to be one of those nights, and Flug was already looking forward to enjoying some sweet solitude to work on his pet projects. Demencia and 505 were going out this evening. Pranking people and trick-or-treating respectively. They were off getting ready now, letting Flug start on his evening. 

Carefully, Flug opened a locked cabinet at the very back of the lab. All of his most volatile and rare materials were stored in this particular unit and it was bolted into the wall so firmly that Demencia could _jump up and down on it_ and the thing wouldn’t budge an inch. He still tread carefully while he took out a footstool and used it to reach and pick a glass container from the top shelf. Inside the container was a small scroll of paper, giving off a vaporous purple magic. Flug smiled at it as he climbed down and locked the cabinet up tight. A nice quiet night to build something that had been nagging at the back of his mind. This was going to be a good halloween. Maybe if he got this pet project done tonight, Black Hat would even be pleased with it. Maybe he’d get some recognition for his work. He got to work immediately, pulling out his extensive notes on the artifact in front of him. It was a paper inscription for use in making golems. Prepped and ready to go by a warlock, it was already seeking something to give life to. As long as the paper inside stayed intact and away from any earth or metal, he was assured it would stay that way.

He had been tinkering with the design of a ray device that would streamline the process of golem making. The creatures made excellent minions as long as you used a sturdy material in their creation, but it took a lot of magic to make golems. More magic than your everyday villain would possess. Of course that meant it was time to turn to the much more reasonable option. Science wins again, as it always does! Flug was happily making adjustments to the device itself when the door to the lab opened. The horrifically imposing creature that was his Lord and Master strolled into the lab with as much interest as one might give walking by a tree they passed every day on their way home. 

“G-good evening, Lord Black Hat, sir!” Flug raised a hand in a salute, keeping it there just long enough for Black Hat to give the customary grumble that signified he was tired of watching Flug make the gesture.

As Black Hat seemed to inspect the lab, likely making sure that Flug had been working as expected up until this time, the Doctor turned to continue fiddling with his gadget. By the time the door opened again, he was carefully attaching the glass container to its top. He barely looked up as he heard 505 make a pleased noise to greet him, but he did manage to tear his eyes away from the little project when he heard Demencia follow him in. The lizard woman was dressed as a witch, and was picking at 505’s pumpkin costume as she teased him.

“Better be careful, Bear!” She announced loudly. “Someone might mistake you for an actual pumpkin and carve you and put you on their porch!” 

Upon hearing his furry son’s frightened response, Flug sighed and turned fully, with the device in hand. “Demencia! Leave 505 alone! He deserves to have a good night too!”

“Oh like _you_ , nerd? Aren’t you staying in tonight? Working away your pitiful life instead of enjoying the one holiday we get for _mischief_?!” Demencia was rolling her eyes so hard, they might as well have unscrewed themselves and fallen to the floor.

Flug glared at her. “I’ll have you know that _I’m_ actually doing something useful tonight, instead of wasting my time terrorizing the neighborhood children!” He waved the hand with the device in it, gesturing wildly, before quickly pulling it back near his body for safety. He couldn’t drop this. It was barely held together.

“What dumb toy are you making now?” Flug watched as Demencia approached him, her heterochromatic eyes fixed on the device in his hand. 

“Oh no you don’t! You’re not touching this!” He turned his body away from her, shielding the bit of technology as he glared at her. He should have known that would only be a challenge to her. One she would enjoy taking him up on. Flug had barely managed to brace himself before Demencia leapt at him, scrambling to find purchase on his skinny frame as the Doctor curled his body around the device. He was scrambling himself trying to stay upright with this deranged woman climbing on him.

“Get off!”

“Just let me see it already!”

“Don’t you dare touch-” 

“You’re only making this harder on yourself!”

“Demencia!”

“Nerd-!”

“ **ENOUGH** ” 

Black Hat’s roar shook the lab. Flug had honestly forgotten he was in the room. This memory mistake was fixed for him in short order. Black Hat was clearly annoyed, and had grown at least another 5 feet. He was looming over them in a way that made even Demencia stop in her tracks. Tendrils and darkness radiated off him, adding to the effect of the posturing. 

Flug was thrown to the ground as Demencia lept off him. He fell forward, making a quick decision not to land on his fragile device and to push it out away from his body. Unfortunately, pushing turned into more of a desperate toss, and the machine hit the ground a few feet away from Flug. Right in front of Black Hat’s dress shoes. Flug heard a crash of glass, and then a heartstopping _crunch_ that could only have been the internal power source he had installed. He didn’t waste time double checking his theory before curling into a ball where he could try to protect his neck and head. Flug’s instincts served him very well. The device exploded into smoke and arcing electricity split seconds after he had covered himself. He heard shrapnel zoom across the room, more glass shattering, and the thick noise of the material imbedding itself into the metal walls. Then he heard the only sound worse than the decimation of hours of work. He heard his boss _scream_ with rage. 

Flug was ripped off the ground by what could only be one of Black Hat’s tentacles. As his eyes snapped open to take in the seething, red-eyed demon face his boss was fixing on him, he saw what had made the eldritch particularly angry. The tentacle holding Flug had been severed. It was growing back even now, a tip taking the place of where there had been a bleeding end, but Flug knew he was not going to be forgiven just because Black Hat could effortlessly heal the minor injury.

“ **WHAT IS THE** **_MEANING_ ** **OF THIS?** ” Black Hat shook the Doctor slightly, his sharp teeth bared in a fearsome snarl.

“I-I’m sorry Jefecito!!” Flug clasped his hands in front of him in a pleading motion. As best he could while the life was being squeezed out of him, that is. “It was an accident! I dropped the project when Demencia jumped off of me!” Flug wheezed as the tendril tightened around him. “I’m s-sorry sir! It won’t happen again, Sir!”

“No it will **not!** ” Black Hat carelessly tossed the Doctor across the room, where Flug landed with a loud thud against the wall and fell to the floor. He was pretty sure he had a cracked rib, and he could feel a sharp ache settling into the shoulder that had been the first contact with the wall. He stayed perfectly still, frozen in fear of his monstrous boss.

“You will clean up this mess and get back to work on the projects _I_ have assigned to you!” Black Hat was now in his more human shape again, dusting some smoke off of his overcoat as he snarled. “I will not have you wasting any more time on these pitiful side projects!” The eldritch marched out the lab door. With Demencia gone, it left only 505 and flug in the lab. The bear approached with a concerned noise, and Flug managed to pull himself off the floor. His eyes swept the lab again. There were bits of metal sticking from the wall, and several glass containers had been shattered, including the one that had been holding the golem scroll. The parchment lay on the ground, torn from the explosion and no longer radiating it’s life-giving magic. Bits of its shattered glass containment unit were scattered around it, some coated in Black Hat’s acidic green blood. 

The Doctor sighed as he managed to pull himself up from the floor. He assured 505 he was okay before he began the task of cleaning the lab. He looked forlornly at the parchment as he picked it up. Even if he had not just been forbidden from working on the project, the destruction of the bit of magic needed to power the device would set him back weeks. Maybe even months. He grimly dropped it into a hazard bin with the rest of the debris. So much for getting something extra done. So much for making his boss even the slightest bit proud of him. He hated Halloween.

Under one of the lab’s large, sturdy tables, the tip of a tentacle squirmed with life.


	2. What Hides in the Dark

CHAPTER 1

From where it is in the dark, it can hear and smell many things. Most of the smelling is done with its tongue. Yes. It has a tongue. It has a mouth. Of that it is sure. It was one of the first things it remembered manifesting. It knew that it had a desire to eat, but its movements were sluggish. It could only drag itself with the two appendages it possessed, and its body was too thin and short to slither for any distance. That is very frustrating to it. So hungry, and yet no ability to seek out food. Still, it is better now to stay. Voices surround it at almost all hours. As loud and booming as these voices are, it can only imagine what horrendous things lie in wait outside of its hiding place. Actually…. Being that it has no eyes and has never seen anything, it can’t imagine much at all. Or maybe it’s incapable of imagination. It isn’t as though it could answer you, should you ask it.

Today, the loud things are near its hiding place again. They seem to surround it right now, and it backs away as well as it can. It wished it understood the noises they were making. They are louder than normal. It has heard three things making noises, with one being more familiar than the others. The most familiar one is usually quiet. It talks calmly. Sometimes it is joined by the one that makes only short noises. Today is one of the days the loud one joins them. It has made the quiet one loud too. 

“Demencia! This is an important event! You need to do something about your hair!” Crashing and thumping followed. 

“I don’t care! You’re not putting this ugly thing on me!”

“It’s just a headband! Put it on!”

“Never!!” More crashing. More loud noises. Something ripped. 

“Stop chewing off the bows!!” There was ripping and spitting noise. The small creature under the table wiggled further back as something was spat, landing with a plop in its hiding spot. “Demencia!!” came the angered noise from the familiar one. It listened to them scramble out of the area.

It was safer to move when there was no one around to hear. So when the loud things were out of range, it inched closer to what had entered its area. Hungry as it was, the creature couldn’t chance losing something to eat, even if it was a strange object that had been discarded in its hiding place. It located the object with its tongue, and quickly swiped the wet thing into its jagged mouth. 

It had no need to swallow. It had no stomach. As soon as the item passed its teeth, the creature could feel it being absorbed into its form. Its body trembled suddenly. The feeling of the new addition to its form expanded through it rapidly. The creature began to change. First, its useless front appendages became more firm. Then two more were added toward its tail end. Each of these limbs formed small, fingered and clawed hands. With excitement, the creature picked itself up using these new limbs and stumbled slightly. Atop its head, another change occurred. The item, free of the wetness that had once been a part of it, had firmly attached itself. It was just another bodily component. Getting the hang of its new appendages, the creature scrambled across the floor of its hiding spot. Then up the vertical surface behind it.

**********************************

It had been on the move since it gained the ability, though it still sometimes spent long hours curled in the safety of its original hidey hole. There was a certain comfort to its small den. In the quiet hours, when none of the creatures that inhabited this area were present, it left its den to explore and find food. There was not much luck. It had only grown slightly larger since the massive change that had given it limbs and its headpiece. Most of the items around its area were hard and very difficult to devour. Occasionally it would try to chew them down anyway, only to quickly scramble away when something entered from the barrier that kept it in this room. The chewing seemed to anger the one with the most familiar voice. That one was always louder after it had spent any time trying to devour the hard objects. In fact, that one seemed upset whenever it ate  _ any _ of the many objects it happened upon in its exploration. 

Well as long as it was never caught, it should be fine. Currently it was handing on the ceiling of its usual den. The more it ate, it recognized that it was getting almost too big to squirm in and out of this particular den. It would have to find a new one, but without sight it could not guarantee what was a good hiding spot and what was dangerously unprotected. It was lucky it had learned the room well enough to be able to return to this spot. Outgrowing it would be a real hassle.

Next to the hiding spot, something large dropped its weight to the floor. It was enough to get the creature to freeze, listening for whatever had taken up residence so close to its home. It was soon clear the thing was one of the voices it recognized. Even with the gentle breathing, the soft animal noises were clear. Sleeping. The creature crawled down from the ceiling of its den, and toward the edge, where it could even feel the warmth of the thing on the other side. It bumped its face against the warmth and felt softness. The thing didn’t move at all. It bumped its face against the soft area again and without warning bit down with its sharp teeth. As the thing yelped and jumped up it backed itself back against the wall. It heard the thing whimpering as it left the room. It initially thought it had not collected anything to eat from this thing, despite its strong bite, but as the creature licked its teeth, it consumed the little hairs that had been pulled free. 

Another change began. Again it got bigger, and again its body was altered. Its back legs elongated and reshaped, pushing it into a mostly bipedal stature. One at a time, two eyes opened on its face. It blinked them, adjusting to having sight. Cooing softly, the creature used its eyes to peek out of its den. The area was clear. It laid its eyes on a vent on the wall. A perfect spot to hide from view. The creature scrambled and pulled itself out from under its old den. After standing a moment and looking around, it went back to a quadrupedal posture to scurry to and up the far wall. 

Something caught its attention as it moved. It stopped and gazed at a glossy surface that was reflecting the room. The creature peered closer, noting its own grey skin and odd shape. Its eyes followed up its own face and settled on a little piece of fabric sitting atop its head. A neat, folded bow. It was distracted from itself when it heard footsteps approaching from outside the room. Without wasting any more time, it scaled the wall and approached the vent, scratching off the barrier into it and climbing inside where it disappeared from view.

************************************************

It had been a rough couple of months in the lab. The New Year holiday had just finished and Flug was no more rested than he had been at the end of the last year. Or the year before that, for that matter. He was eyeing another set of chewed up tools he had discovered when he entered the lab this morning. As many times as he confronted her, Demencia swore up and down she was not the one sneaking into his workplace and making a mess of his nice, sterile equipment. He still didn’t believe her, but she was getting a tad aggressive with the continued accusations. Flug sighed as he picked up the dented and bent wrench that had been left on his primary work table. He didn’t have time for this right now and he could clean it up later.

He put the wrench down and walked away from that bit of damage. Flug had different stations across the lab for different types of work. The mess was in a building station. He was headed to the chemical station. Black Hat had asked him to look into a ray that would boil an enemy’s blood while it was still in their body. While there was a different area to create and test rays, Flug first needed something to test  _ on _ . Human blood. Thankfully, he regularly ‘donated’ his own blood for such purposes. He hadn’t needed to use the stuff in storage for a while so he was sure he had a considerable stock. Opening the biohazard freezer let him conclude he indeed had plenty. A tray was ready for him and he placed a couple of blood bags and a handful of smaller glass vials onto it. That would be enough for preliminary testing. Flug turned and started toward the ray station. He made it 10 steps before he tripped on a chewed up aerosol can. 

He landed right on the tray, wincing at the sound of the blood bags busting and the vials cracking. He had to lay there for a minute, feeling the liquid soak his clothes with no inclination to get up and see just how bad the mess was. He sighed when he finally pulled himself up. It looked like a murder scene. Fantastic, another thing to waste his time today. He had to clean this up immediately. The lab was supposed to be a sterile environment and Flug worked hard to keep it that way. First though, he wanted to change clothes.

He left the lab with a huff and went to the nearby bathroom. He kept a change of clothes in this bathroom. It was always good if he got coated in something or needed a chemical shower. This time, he just changed clothes and wiped his skin of the extra blood. He gazed at himself in the mirror. It was hard to see how tired he was with the bag on. He felt it though. Flug had a slow walk back to the lab. He certainly wasn’t excited to start cleaning and sanitizing the floor. With a sigh, he walked through the lab door. There, he completely froze. 

Sitting in the midst of the spilled blood was a small, dark grey creature. He had a great sense of horror as it looked up at him. Its tongue was hanging out of its mouth and dripping with the blood it had clearly been  _ drinking _ . It froze when it saw him, and he and the creature locked eyes. Flug began making mental notes. It was standing in a manner that suggested it usually traveled on all fours, and it had a tail to support that. Its large eyes were wide with shock, and instead of a mouth with teeth it appeared to have a sharp, jagged opening on its face. Like a child had tried to draw the jaws of an alligator. Its forked tongue was hanging out between the top and bottom of the mouth. It seemed to have something like ears on the top of its head. Or maybe fabric? He didn’t have much time to ponder this. Before Flug’s eyes, the blood on the creature’s face and tongue sank into its skin. Its shape began to change. Where it had been hunched over, its back straightened. Its legs also changed shape to better support this upwards posture, and its tail shortened. Finally, the creature’s shoulders moved back, rounding and appearing more human. It blinked after its change in shape, thin and transparent lids covering its eyes. Like a lizard.

Flug had only barely stepped towards it before the creature scampered off. With its head start he wasn’t able to catch up to it before it darted up a side wall and into the venting system. When had the vent cover come off of that wall? He stood and stared at the hole, trying to figure out what his next step had to be. For now, he was absolutely sure of two things. One, was that he needed to capture that thing and find out what it was. The second, was that he probably owed Demencia an apology.

Now that he thought about it, there had been something kind of familiar about that creature.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy do I love signing things off with a one sentence line that sets the tone of the next chapter. Here we have it. The almost complete transformation of the creature that will become Black Bow herself. Stay Tuned.


	3. What Thrives in the Light

He’d tried several different ways to bring it out. Putting down a soft bed, leaving out food, and even setting up tempting hiding spots where he could easily trap it, but the creature was proving to be more clever than he had initially thought. Some prideful part of him wondered if his own blood had changed its intelligence as well as its shape. Regardless, time after time he found himself entering the lab just in time to hear scrambling or see something dark disappear into the vent. It was frustrating. It wasn’t even eating the food! Considering so far it had only chewed on metal and eaten from a stray puddle of blood, maybe sandwiches weren't what it considered food. He also had its change after consuming the blood to consider. Was it picking up DNA from what it ate? What would a ham sandwich do to its form? He stopped leaving food out.

The main problem was that the creature seemed to be able to sense when he was about to come into the lab. It was quick too. Flug needed to build something, it seemed. Something that could trap it while he was away. For that he needed bait that worked. Something that he knew it wanted to eat. He had to use more of his own blood. That brought him to where he was now. Emptying a bag of his own blood into the center area of a net trap. He sighed as he finished and stood back. It looked…. Pretty obvious actually. He could only hope the creature was hungry enough to fall for it.

He left the lab to go find himself some food. Something quick so he could get back to work. He had wasted a lot of time trying to catch this thing and he did not need Black Hat catching wind of that. It had been a struggle to stay on schedule while trying to capture the creature, but he had been managing so far. He really wanted to just catch it so he could figure out what it was and where it came from. He’d tell Black Hat about it  _ after _ the situation had already been handled. It saved him the extra step of being called incompetent for not just dealing with it himself. 

He settled on a meal replacement bar, scribbling notes as he munched on it. In about 10 minutes he had finished the bar as well as a considerable amount of math for his next project. He'd do the rest of it in the lab where he wouldn't be accused of slacking off. Still, he took his time getting to the other side of the manor. When you had very little in the way of breaks and free time, even strolling down the hallways was a welcome reprieve from actually working. He had almost reached the door to his laboratory when he heard struggling and hissing. He ran the last few feet and threw the door open.

There, wiggling against and trying to bite the net, was the little gray creature. He watched in awe as he approached it. The thing seemed more panicked than anything else. When it noticed he was moving toward it, it froze. Its wide eyes locked onto Flug’s goggles. He could see it’s chest heaving with panicked breaths. It reminded him so much of a scared lab rat that he was sure its little heart had to be beating out of its chest. If it had one? It was too early to assume. He walked to its side and knelt down to look at it. The creature scrambled as far away as the net would allow. 

“There, there.” He cooed. “I’m not going to hurt you. Just trying to get a look” He should really find a cage to put this in. Judging by the specks of blood still on it’s face, it had gotten another taste of his blood, but it hadn’t changed again from what he could see. Maybe it could only absorb so much of any specific type of DNA? Before he reached out to touch it, he offered his hand. “Please don’t bite me”

The trembling creature stared at the hand. When Flug didn’t move, it inched carefully closer and brought its face to the hand. Flug almost expected it to sniff his hand like a dog. Instead, a thin tongue flickered from its mouth. It was so familiar. The color, the eyes, the little flickering tongue. He had seen it all before. The creature bumped its head against Flug’s hand while the scientist was distracted. When Flug jumped, it did too, leaning away from him as he gave it the same startled expression it was giving him. Now that it wasn’t trying to cower away from him, Flug could make out a bit of fabric on its head. He was surprised to see a neat little black bow. 

“Where did you get this?” He gently touched the creature’s head. What was the bow tied to? It had no hair to speak of. Other than the lack of hair and the clear presence of a tail, it looked mostly humanoid. Knowing that made it a little weird that the creature was naked. He looked around the lab for something it could wear. 

It took a little time, but before long he had the creature dressed in a pillowcase and sitting on one of the lab counters. It almost looked like a little dress. Between the pillowcase frock and the bow, the creature really did look like a little girl… mostly. There was a decidedly inhuman nature to the face, the clawed hands, and strangely shaped clawed feet. He looked back up at its face. It was smiling at him. Wide and innocent, and with a curious understanding. He wasn’t even sure how it could smile without anything resembling lips. Maybe the smile was in its eyes. Those eyes.

They looked like Black Hat’s. 

The familiarity fell into place around the eyes. Dark skin. No nose. Sharp ‘teeth’. Why, if it was wearing a tiny monocle and a top hat it would be near identical to his boss! That was actually kind of a cute image… That had to be it. This thing had something to do with Black Hat. That didn’t clear up any of his questions, though! What  _ was _ this creature? A member of Black Hat’s species? A child? A  _ baby _ ? Why was it here? Did it belong to his Boss? Did Black Hat know this creature was here? His thoughts were interrupted as the small creature took hold of his hand. He watched as it stared at the hand, and then put it on top of its own head with a strange purring noise. Flug’s heart melted. 

There was no way that Black Hat knew this creature existed. For one, he certainly wouldn’t have let it be crawling around vents in the lab. He probably would have thought to tell his employees of its existence as well. Secondly, this thing was far too sweet and trusting to have ever crossed paths with Black Hat. He rubbed its head. If Black Hat didn’t know about this, that meant Flug had to tell him. The little creature moved slightly and pulled his hand over its face. While it rubbed its face happily along his glove Flug tried to think of what Black Hat’s reaction to it would be. The creature cooed and continued to make purring noises. 

He remembered when he had first introduced Black Hat to 505. The bear’s cute nature and softness has disgusted Black Hat from the very beginning. It was by the grace of 505’s carefully engineered indestructibility that the bear had even survived this long. Even if this creature was somehow related to his boss, he doubted that in such a small and precarious state that Black Hat couldn’t find a way to reject it. Or worse.

He didn’t think he wanted Black Hat to know about this at all.

Of course, keeping something a secret from Lord Black Hat was almost certain death in itself. The eldritch had a way of sniffing out even information that was absolutely useless to him. As long as it had somehow been withheld. Flug couldn’t even get himself or 505 an extra treat at the grocery store without his boss being in the doorway when he got back. Reminding him of what the punishments would be if Flug had spent company money on such useless things. If he couldn’t keep a one dollar candy bar from Black Hat’s prying eyes, there was no way he could hide a full, living creature. Yet somehow, this little creature had remained undetected in the lab area for so long. Black hat hadn’t asked about Flug’s odd behavior during the time he was trying to capture it either. Maybe there was a way he could keep this to himself just a little longer. To figure out exactly what had happened.

Flug turned with a jump as the laboratory door opened. In the split second it took to lock eyes with who was walking into the lab, Flug already knew it was too late to hide. The purposeful click of dress shoes on the hard tile floor was not one Flug would ever forget.

*************************************************************************************************************

Black Hat didn’t generally need a reason to enter the lab. Despite the gadgets not being his field of expertise, he did own the house and all the equipment in the cold metal room. Including the doctor that used the lab. Sometimes Black Hat went to the lab just to torment the nervous man. While that was always good for a laugh, he actually had a purpose today, and he would rather take care of business and get back to his own work. He did not miss the way Dr. Flug nearly jumped out of his own skin when his boss entered. The human must have been too distracted to hear him approach. With that reaction, however, it was a tossup whether Flug had been doing his actual job, or something he thought he’d be in trouble for. Black Hat’s narrowed eye scanned the desk where the Doctor had been working. There appeared to be some form of creature wrapped in white cloth in front of the man. A surgical cloth, perhaps? It could be a dissection. Often when they made monsters for clients the first few would be defective in some way and Flug would set about finding out what had gone wrong. Whatever this monster was for, it was still moving. 

Flug never performed autopsies until a creature was dead. He also tended to go out of his way to make sure the creation was put down humanely. Come to think of it, he did not remember any clients asking for their homemade monstrosities recently either. He stepped forward toward the doctor, who’s continued silence and shock was giving more away than the man probably intended. The Doctor was doing something he thought he ought to not be doing. Fantastic. Now instead of a quick meeting to give some demands, he was going to have to reprimand his employee again. If this was anything like the damn bear, Black Hat swore he would-

A vibrating coo from the creature behind Flug stopped Black Hat in his tracks. Or rather, his own response to that coo did. The moment the noise had been made, something had churned in the Eldritch being’s stomach. A sickening, clenching feeling that hit him so suddenly he could do nothing but snarl in response. The shock passed quickly though, and with renewed vigor, Black Hat marched to the desk and pushed the doctor out of the way to see what had caused it. Flug was already trying to stammer out some explanation or plea for mercy. Whatever he said fell on deaf ears as Black Hat’s eyes fell on the semi-clothed creature. Even with its wide eyes and diminutive form, there was no mistaking it. This creature was Eldritch.

“ **What have you done** ?” He growled accusingly. He was sure he must have looked particularly enraged, he  _ felt _ he was, because Flug immediately flinched back from him as far as he could without moving. The Doctor knew trying to run would only make Black Hat give chase. That would make his punishment far, far worse.

“M-me, sir? I didn’t-”

Ignoring the small creature for now, Black Hat grabbed Flug’s shirt and hoisted the lean scientist up to face him. There was no escaping this. He ignored the creature when it squeaked in fear, just as he ignored Flug’s own yelp.

“ **What have you** **_made_ ** ?” He snarled through his teeth. It was absolutely impossible. Even with their close quarters, there was no way Flug could have managed to secure some of his DNA in order to make…  _ whatever _ that hideous thing was. Not without him noticing. Even if he had managed to collect enough to work with, Black Hat knew even Flug would be in over his head trying to make something of the intensely unnatural genetics. Somehow though, this creature existed. Close enough to  _ being _ him that he had not been able to sense it’s presence among his own.

“I-I didn’t make it! I swear!” Flug kicked his feet as he squirmed uselessly. “I just found it! I-I knew something was loose in the lab and I only caught it today, Jefe! Not even 15 minutes ago! I swear! Please! I don’t even know where it came from!”

Flug’s groveling was truly pathetic, even for a human, but Black Hat could always tell when the doctor was lying. As far as he could tell now, he was getting nothing but the truth in Flug’s panicked attempt to try to save his own hide. It only served to enrage him more. How could such a thing exist with not a single person knowing how. He dropped Flug on the floor and turned back to the creature. It was whimpering. Trying to make itself seem smaller in some form of submission. It was disgusting. It was  _ weak _ . 

To make it even worse it was most certainly somehow a part of him. It was the only explanation to how he had not immediately sensed an intruder. Especially an Eldritch one. Outside of reproduction, his kind were almost exclusively solitary creatures. Even the presence of a spawn left too close to his territory should register to him immediately. His snarl widened at the cowering form of the creature and he snatched it up in a hand.

“S-sir.” Flug was pulling himself off the floor now. Surprisingly quickly, usually he would have continued to grovel there until he was addressed. “What are… What are you going to do with it?”

  
“What do you  _ think _ I’m going to do with it, you idiot?” Black Hat snapped back in retort. “I’m going to destroy it”


	4. A Second Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! Lets get back into it.

Flug had gone completely still. As usual, Black Hat couldn't see his face, but he knew the shocked silence he was receiving now represented Flug being particularly horrified. He wasn't in the mood to care. This little abomination needed to be dealt with. He refused to allow it to exist. Flug seemed to find his voice as the horrid thing began squirming and squeaking. 

“S-sir! You can’t just destroy it!” Flug was showing an unusual boldness today, it seemed. Black Hat snapped his attention back to the doctor.

“I’m sorry, Doctor. Did I just hear you tell me what I could or couldn’t do?” He was in no mood for this either. Despite clearly wincing at his tone, Flug took a step toward him.

“No sir! But… This creature could be really useful! T-to the company! It could be an asset” Flug was grasping at straws. He was even grasping with his hands, physically reaching out toward Black Hat as if he dared to take the creature back into his own arms. The Eldritch Terror’s mouth turned up in a snarl, showing sharp teeth as a warning. It wasn’t much of a warning, as he moved on to shove the doctor violently without waiting for a reaction, making the human land on the cold floor of the lab.

“I don’t want it to be an asset, you idiot!” Black Hat roared at his employee’s crumpled form, hand tightening around the creature as it started to panic and seek escape. “I want it to be **dead** ! This ugly little _thing_ needs to be gotten rid of!” Flug’s hands flew over his face in self-protection, and Black Hat looked back at the squirming little eldritch.

The longer he looked at it, the more he hated the very notion of it existing. It was clearly trying to escape him, and all he had to do was continue the vice grip he had on its arm. It wasn’t trying to shape shift, It wasn’t trying to attack or bite him, it wasn’t even _struggling_ with that much strength. He didn’t even want to be labeled the same species as the pitiful little thing. It was defective. Weak. Even if it were a _real_ spawn, something like this could never survive on its own. How sickening that such a thing could be connected to him in any way. He raised it higher, and the creature continued to squeak and whine with fear. If it was a part of him, he would just take it back. Refuse to allow its existence in this world. 

Flug was looking back up at him as he raised the thing over his head and opened his mouth wide. He could hear the Doctor’s sudden babbling, a begging and whimpering, but he wasn’t paying it any mind. Nor did he listen to the horrified shriek the Doctor made when he dropped the creature into his open mouth and shut his jaws behind it. There was a certain finality to the snap of his sharp teeth, and just like that, silence returned. 

A glance at the Doctor showed him to be deathly still. Flug’s eyes were wide with shock. No doubt this had very much upset him. Black Hat wasn’t going to be bothered by that. It wasn’t as if he cared what state of mind his employees were in at any given time. He sneered again at Flug, showing many teeth and a clearly empty mouth. Maybe that would teach the Doctor to keep secrets or allow things like this to happen. Without another word between them, Black Hat strode out of the lab. 

*******************************************************************

It was several hours before Black Hat strode back into the lab. He had come earlier with a job to give the scientist. Unfortunately, he’d been distracted by that little problem, and then had to let out his anger elsewhere. Now, he was back on task. The door opened in it’s usual manner, and Flug was right at the table he’d left him at. From the entrance of the lab, Black Hat could already see that Flug’s shoulders were hunched over where he was working on the desk. The taste of melancholy hung in the air around the human. He hated that smell. 

“Doctor Flug” The snap of his voice served to catch Flug’s attention, and the scientist quickly turned to face him. He definitely saw a displeased look cross Flug’s face. More specifically, under his goggles. It quickly left and Flug dutifully saluted him. The Doctor was still displeased by what happened earlier with the _thing_. Such a bleeding heart on this one, and he had the nerve to call himself a villain. 

“Something to _say_ , Doctor?” His words were a deliberate challenge, and Flug knew it. He could see the shiver that ran through the human. Flug straightened himself out before answering. 

  
  
“N-no Sir, Lord Black Hat, Sir”

That’s what he had thought. He looked around the room, making sure nothing was out of place. “Good. Now back to what I had originally come to discuss.” There were many steps to this particular job, and Flug was scribbling down as much as he could as fast as he could do it. The Doctor knew better than to ask him to repeat anything or slow down, and the frenzied look the man had when desperately trying not to miss any information did the Eldritch entity good. It was nearly calming to be instilling panic again. 

Several moments into giving his orders, an odd feeling passed over Black Hat. His stomach churned once more, not unlike it had when that creature had made a noise in his presence. This disturbance was much stronger, though. It rose up in him like a clawing thing instead of sinking to the pits of his being. He growled, clutching his chest, before a violent coughing fit overtook him. It legitimately felt like something was trying to escape him. He thought he could vaguely hear the Doctor trying to say something to him, but between the sounds his own body was making and the ringing that had started to dull his hearing, he had neither the ability nor care to listen. The discomfort traveled still upwards and as it reached his upper chest he doubled over, supporting himself with his hands on his knees as he hacked loudly. 

He thought he might have looked like a cat trying to hack up a hairball like this. Flug had certainly vacated the area in front of him in case he indeed coughed something up. He felt like he might do just that. The clawing feeling had turned to a literal scratching up the length of his throat. To expel whatever was causing this, he beat his fist against his chest and opened his mouth. Finally, something shot out of him like a projectile. A black mass that hit the floor and skidded several feet away. Black Hat looked up at the thing, his mouth still drooling, eyes blown wide with surprise and anger. As he watched, the thing squirmed on the ground. It was alive. It was that _creature_. 

Before him, the creature that he had tried to destroy sat up, and its form solidified into a recognizable shape. The tiny eldritch entity had changed from what he had popped into his mouth not long ago. The white pillowcase it had been clothed in had been stained black and taken on a more frock-like form, as if it was wearing a little dress. A wide-brimmed hat set neatly on its head, unaffected by the ejection that had sent the creature across the room. On the back of that hat, a neat bow sat folded, trailing long ribbon ends behind it. 

Black Hat felt an impossible rage well within him. That creature should be dead. It should not have come back and it certainly should not have  _ taken  _ **_more of him_ ** . And yet it had, and the small thing turned its own eyes onto him with a rage that reflected his own. A face that reflected his own. A thin-lipped sneer above jagged teeth. As Doctor Flug stood in shock on his left side, Black Hat locked eyes with the creature, and the two stared each other down with growing malice. 

*******************************************************************

The Tension could be cut with a knife. Flug fidgited uncomfortably as he looked between his boss and the little one. It looked quite angry now. He couldn't really say he blamed it. Her? It looked even more like a little girl now, but he supposed he shouldn't assume. It hadn't appeared to have a gender earlier. Not one that he could distinguish, at least. The long ribbon and little dress did make him lean to calling it a girl, despite its physical lack of specifics. 

No one had moved since Black Hat had coughed her back up. His boss was still leaned over, hands on his knees with his eyes locked hatefully on the little thing. His boss looked incensed. The little thing stared back with a mirrored expression. A perfect copy of his rage. It would almost be cute if they weren't radiating extreme hatred.

The silence had stretched on so long now. Flug was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with it. He didn't like not knowing what was going on. He had been almost wondering if the two were locked in some form of psychic back and forth he wasn't privy to. Finally, Flug could no longer take the inaction. He took the tiniest step closer to the two entities. "Jef-"

The speed that his boss's head turned to face him had flug stumbling backwards. Those enraged eyes were focused on him now, and he'd give life and limb to have them  _ anywhere _ else instead. 

**"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR A SOUND FROM YOU, YOU USELESS-"**

It seemed the little one had been looking for an opportunity. No sooner had Black hat inhaled to scream at him, the tiny creature had darted from the position she'd landed in and right past the enraged eldritch lord. Black Hat had turned quickly, and several arms had targeted the little one in a lightning fast attempt to catch it. How she managed to slip through them was a mystery to Flug, but watching her cross the threshold of the lab and into the manor earned an earth shaking roar from Black Hat. He was moving before Flug found his feet again, and had disappeared from view before flug took a single step. This was very bad. 

Against better judgment, Flug took off after them. Up one hall, down a flight of stairs, through the kitchen, down three more halls and past the conservatory. He only caught up every so often, but it was easy to follow the sounds of destruction and claw marks in the walls, carpets, and ceilings. Always, the little one was ahead with Black Hat hot on her tail. His boss was fast,  _ insanely fast _ , but the little one seemed very evasive. Several times she slipped through his fingers-tendrils, saws, live snakes- at the last possible second. Flug was beginning to think she was made of smoke, or something incorporeal. This hypothesis was disproved when he watched her rocket through and completely destroy an oak door with the force of a cannonball. What was left of that door was incinerated as his boss followed her. 

Flugs lungs were burning by the next time he caught up to them. Thankfully, or maybe unfortunately depending on the viewpoint, it seemed to be the end of the chase. He watched as his boss threw his body at the little one, pouncing like cat at her, and finally grabbed her around the middle. Black Hat quickly righted himself, standing up and holding the thing at arms length, and fixed it with another glare. Unlike last time, the little one was not putting up with being grabbed. Flug wheezed as he stopped near them, and watched the tiny creature try a variety of ways to escape his boss’s firm grasp. She raked her tiny claws against his hand and arm, shredding the fabric there, she shifted her form between various large and small things, squirming and hissing and snarling and growling the whole time. When Black hat squeezed more firmly, Flug watched in horror as the creature opened her mouth and  _ bit _ him. 

Had Black Hat just hissed in pain? No. That was impossible. He was probably just making that noise because he was angry. Even that was hard to believe as Flug watched thick drops of green blood begin running down from between the little one’s teeth. Black Hat seemed to be trying to crush her between his hands, but she only bit down harder, her growling reaching a furious pitch. 

He was surprised when Black Hat turned toward him and threw the creature squarely against his chest with enough force to knock him to the floor. Flug scrambled to grasp her. Thankfully she seemed just as surprised as he was. 

“ _ YOU _ LIKE THE DAMN THING SO MUCH.  _ YOU _ CAN DEAL WITH IT.”

Flug was still trying to process these words as his boss stalked off down the hall, radiating a fury so intense it was melting the paintings that hung in his path. What had he meant by ‘deal with it’? Did he expect Flug to find a way to kill her? Had Black Hat been somehow  _ unable _ to kill her? Questions swirled in his head until he felt movement in his arms. He looked down at the small eldritch being to see it staring back up at him. It really did look so much like his boss. 

“Hello, there.” Flug tried to smile, but the feeble attempt was lost under his bag. The little one hissed at him in response. Flug sighed. That was a definite change in her attitude. Maybe she blamed him for being eaten. The Doctor stood from the floor. A steady growling from the little one in his arms told him that his life was about to face another in a series of massive changes.


End file.
